Never Have I Ever is an icebreaker game that helps people get to know each other better. Everyone sits in a circle and take turns telling the others about some kind of experience they have never done. Each player starts with ten fingers showing. Each time someone says something that you’ve already done, you drop a finger. The goal is to be the last player remaining.
This get-to-know-you game can be played indoors or outdoors. The recommended number of people for this game is ten to fifteen, but all group sizes can play by dividing into appropriate sized groups. Recommended age is 8 and up. No special materials are required.
Instructions for Never Have I Ever
Instruct everyone to sit in a circle. If you have an extremely large group, tell people to form smaller circles of about ten to fifteen people; this also works. To start each round, each player holds out all ten fingers and places them on the floor. Go around the circle and one at a time, each person announces something that they have never done, beginning the sentence with the phrase “Never have I ever…” For example, a person could say, “Never have I ever been to Europe.” For each statement that is said, all the other players drop a finger if they have done that statement. So, if three other people have been to Europe before, those three people must put down a finger, leaving them with nine fingers. The goal is to stay in the game the longest (to be the last person with fingers remaining). To win, it’s a good strategy to say statements that most people have done, but you haven’t.
Playing this game, along with the benefit of getting to know each others’ experiences better, can be very humorous (e.g. saying silly statements such as, “Never have I ever skipped a class in school” or “Never have I ever soiled my pants.”) Have fun!
